BLOG 21: Ferris men enjoy excellent trip to Ohio; pick up two wins

By Sandy Gholston

Ferris State University’s Dontae Molden (3) calls out a play as he dribbles the ball up the court against Grand Valley State last Monday (Photo/Sandy Gholston)

BIG RAPIDS – Things looked a bit gloomy, after a tough 72-62 loss at Grand Valley State University last Monday, but the Ferris State University men’s basketball team responded in a big way over the weekend.

To some extent, it was a matter of time before the Bulldogs started to get things going this season. After the loss to the Lakers, Ferris faced the tall task of a road trip to Ohio to challenge Ashland University and Tiffin University. But, by the time everything was said, done and written – Ferris turned in two strong performances to turn a 0-1 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference start into a far prettier 2-1 record prior to the return trip to Michigan. The two wins came over Ashland, 96-91 on Thursday and over Tiffin, 74-48 on Saturday.

So, what were the positives about last weekend’s road trip to Ohio? I start with the play of Ferris’ point guards: sophomore Darien Gay and freshman Dontae Molden. Against Ashland, Gay scored 22 points, dished two assists and grabbed two rebounds in 33 minutes while Molden chipped in with five points, a team-best nine assists and four rebounds in 24 minutes. Saturday, at Tiffin, Gay added 12 points, five assists and three rebounds while Molden finished with seven assists, five points and four rebounds with two steals. That position has improved for the Bulldogs since the start of the season. Head coach Bill Sall has been able to play the two smaller guards together to give opposing teams fits at times.

Another encouraging sign is having Austin Randel continue to get back into basketball condition after being out with an illness. The 6-4 guard finished with 10 points and hit 2-of-5 triple tries as he works to get his great shooting touch back.

As Ferris continues to balance its offense, good things will happen since opposing defenses still must worry about 6-6 sophomore Justin Keenan – a man who commands a lot of attention from defensive-minded coaches.

Ferris now is 3-3 overall and 2-1 in the GLIAC. Considering the toughness of their early-season schedule – including four road games and two contests against teams ranked nationally in the top 10 of Division II, it’s not a bad start.

If you have any questions, ideas or comments feel free to contact Sandy Gholston at sgholston2@netzero.com